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Maximos Charakopoulos: Practical support for elderly expatriate historical Greek communitiestranslated

July 4, 2026 · 1 min read

"The Mitsotakis government, showing in practice its constant interest in the expatriates of historical Greek communities, with a legislative regulation of the Ministry of Finance, provided a solution to the chronic issue of the payment of pensions-benefits concerning elderly expatriates who for various reasons did not receive them". The Secretary General of the New Democracy Parliamentary Group, MP for Larissa, Mr. Maximos Charakopoulos, emphasized the above on the occasion of the upvoting by the parliament of the relevant provision of article 44 of Law 5313/2026. After being informed about the issue by the president of the Ecumenical Federation of Constantinople, professor Mr. Nikolaos Uzunoglou, the General Secretary of the KO of the ND raised the issue to the competent Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Thanos Petralia, who from the first moment he became aware of the problem that has a national and social dimension acted immediately to find the best possible solution.

In his statement, Maximos Harakopoulos thanks "in particular for his immediate reflexes his friend the Deputy Minister of Finance and of course the president of the Ecumenical Federation of Constantinople for his tireless interest in the political diaspora. Personally,…

Source: Orthodoxia News Agency · Read the full story →

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Василь Руденко

In the church of St. Nikolay in Odessa there are old Greek families who remained after the war. Will they be paid pensions for old age from now on, as in the article?

Grace Davis

Mrs. Katsaros from our St. Nicholas Church here in Melbourne couldn’t get her pension for three years like the article mentions—will this new law finally help her now?

Paula López

Μάλλον όχι για την Οδησσό, κύριε Ρούντενκο, γιατί η ρύθμιση αφορά κυρίως υπερήλικες ομογενείς από ιστορικές κοινότητες της Τουρκίας, όπως λέει ο Ουζούνογλου. Εδώ στην Αργεντινή έχουμε αρκετούς από την Πόλη που περίμεναν χρόνια να τακτοποιηθούν τα χαρτιά τους. Ελπίζω να βοηθήσει και την κυρία Katsaros από το Μελβούρνη, όπως λέει η Grace.

Cristina Dobre

Good that it has finally been resolved for the elderly in Istanbul, because I also know a lady from our parish who has been waiting for her pension for years and her documents were not coming out. But from what Paula says, it doesn't seem to apply to the Greek families left in Odessa after the war, does it?

Δημήτρης Αθανασίου

It is good that this problem has finally been solved for the elderly from Polis. Uzunoglu did a good job bringing it to Petralia. From what Paula writes, it probably doesn't cover the Greeks of Odessa either, right?

Методи Атанасов

Good thing they finally fixed it for the adults of Istanbul. I know a grandmother from our church who had documents hanging around for years just like in the article. From what Paola and the others write, it doesn't seem to apply to the old Greek families in Odessa, does it?

Constantin Tudor

It's good that it was resolved for those in Istanbul, Cristina, I also know an old man from the parish who has been waiting for those documents for three years. From what I read in the article, the law seems to target mainly the historical communities in Turkey, not those in Odessa. You talked to Paula more extensively, what exactly does she say about the families there?